Secrets from Her Past: Scandalous, Book 2

by Jules Bennett

  Dylan’s thumb stilled, his head tipped. “This moment?”

  Corinne swallowed and decided to just lay all her cards on the table. “I’m afraid of these emotions that have resurfaced since seeing you again. But most of all I’m afraid if I turn and keep running I’ll regret not telling you that I…”

  Dylan’s other hand came up to cup her cheek. His thumb slid along her lips. “Telling me what, Cori?”

  “That I want you.”

  Chapter Four

  It was pretty damn hard to do what your mind was telling you and what your hormonal body was yelling at you to do when they were polar opposites.

  “Why can’t I say no to you?” he murmured. “I couldn’t years ago and I sure as hell can’t now. I won’t even try.”

  His inability to refuse her blatant offer could have something to do with her nearly naked body that had literally appeared on the beach as he was thinking of her—and the fact that he couldn’t stop touching her. All that silky skin exposed, begging, needing to be touched. And he was going to give in to this desire, this urge, because, damn it, he was an adult and there was nothing stopping them.

  So what if they had a past? If this was any other woman who’d moved to town and there was a mutual attraction, he wouldn’t think twice about acting on his urges.

  Cori reached up and glided her delicate hand along his bare chest. He steeled himself against drifting back to the past. He had to focus on the Cori here and now…not the one who’d left him broken and confused. Too many years had passed. True, he may remember her body, how she moved, how she groaned, but she was so different now and he wasn’t naïve anymore when it came to sex. He knew the difference between lust and love. This pull between them was merely physical.

  “Tell me we won’t regret this tomorrow,” she told him as she locked her eyes with his.

  “I don’t do regrets.” He tugged her against his body, a shiver of arousal coursing through him as her bare skin heated his. “I just live for now. That’s all I have, all I can give.”

  His mouth slammed down onto hers because he didn’t want to think, didn’t want to analyze this to death, or they’d both go back to their respective homes. And he sure as hell didn’t want to spend his time out on the beach in the soft moonlight in the middle of the night just talking with a sexy woman.

  Right now there wasn’t a soul in sight—the moon was high overhead and the lull of the ocean was making this all feel like a dream. A wonderfully erotic dream, and he didn’t want to wake up.

  Her tongue darted into his mouth, tangled with his as her small hands gripped his shoulders. Dylan couldn’t get close enough. He wrapped his hands around her waist and pushed his pelvis against hers until she moaned in his mouth.

  He tore away from the kiss and slid his tongue along the saltiness of the column of her throat. Cori’s body arched back, pushing her breasts higher and nearly begging to be touched, kissed.

  “This damn thing is too tight,” he complained when he couldn’t even ease a hand inside her sports bra.

  “You may not want me to take this off. I didn’t work up a sweat yet, but that’s not to say I’m not sweaty now.”

  He leaned and whispered in her ear, “You can take it off, or I’ll tear it off.”

  Cori’s body trembled against his as she reached and swept the garment off her body and onto the sand. Glorious breasts waited for him and he instantly palmed them both, flicking his thumbs over her perky nipples.

  “Oh, Dylan.”

  Her groan had him dipping his head to taste her. He couldn’t deny himself any longer. As his mouth worked on her, he used his hands to shove that pathetic excuse for shorts down her legs. She shifted slightly and kicked them aside.

  When he could no longer stand it, he pulled back. The sight of her bare except for moonlight sliding over her skin and moisture from his kisses nearly brought him to his knees. In no time he had his own shorts and boxers in a heap beside hers and he stepped back to take a seat on the sturdy canvas swing.

  She hesitated. “Condom?”

  Damn. This erotic dream was not going the way he’d imagined.

  “In the house,” he told her. “But I can tell you that I’ve never gone without one and my recent physical was perfect.”

  Cori smiled. “I’ve been on birth control since I lived here and I can’t recall when my last sexual encounter was, but I know I’ve always used protection too.”

  He stared at her, wanting her to climb on and say “to hell with it”, but at the same time he wanted her to run the other way. This woman had him all torn up.

  “Your call,” he said.

  After about ten seconds of hesitation, Cori stepped forward, easing one knee on either side of his hips. As she straddled him and looked down, Dylan knew a weaker man would take this for something other than sex and maybe even wrap his mind around the fact that a world-renowned supermodel wanted him. But not Dylan. He refused to let this woman, or any other for that matter, touch his heart…ever again. The physical was too easy, too simple…too fun to give up.

  Cori framed his face. “Don’t think. Feel.”

  As if he had any other choice?

  Cori slid her body down onto his and Dylan did everything he could not to roll his head back, close his eyes and revel in the warmth and familiarity of her body. Blocking out old memories, Dylan gripped her hips and held her in place.

  Cori’s mouth came down on his and he started moving beneath her. Her bare chest rubbed against his. Dylan slid his hands up her curves and around to her back where he pulled her tighter against him. He tore his mouth from hers to focus on those breasts she kept taunting him with.

  Her body arched as if she not only knew where his mind had headed, but she’d been craving his touch as well. His tongue flicked over one peaked nipple. Cori gripped his shoulders as her hips bumped against his faster and faster.

  Dylan palmed both breasts as he moved his lips back up her throat to find her mouth readily available. Her knees clenched in at his sides and even if he hadn’t been intimate with her before, he’d know she was close. Her body had quickened, as had her breathing, and soft groans were slipping from between her sultry, full lips.

  Allowing his hands to move back to her hips, he held her down on his lap and took control, shoving his hips up and down until her body clenched around him. He couldn’t help it—he watched her face as she climaxed. Biting her lip, throwing her head back and moaning was all it took, and Dylan could no longer hold his own release back. He thrust once more and let go, still gripping her hips to hold her right where he wanted, needed her to be.

  Her forehead rested against his and they remained locked together until she shifted and eased carefully off his lap. Neither one said a word as they searched for their clothes. He found her sports bra and handed it to her, then pulled his boxers and shorts on.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  He glanced up from buttoning his shorts and saw worry on her face. Hell no. He wasn’t having any of that.

  “I’m fine,” he told her. “You?”

  A sad smile flirted around the corners of her swollen, moist mouth. “I’m not quite sure what to say here.”

  “This was bound to happen. Seriously. You’d been in town less than a day and we’d already kissed, so sex was inevitable.”

  “You’re pretty sure of yourself,” she told him, propping her hands on her hips. “You think I’m that easy?”

  Actually, he thought he was that bad at self-control.

  “I never thought of you as easy, Cori. Then or now.”

  She stared at him and finally nodded. “I know things are weird between us, I just don’t want them to be worse now.”

  Dylan chuckled. “They won’t be worse. Apparently the sex is the one point on which we seem to get along.”

  “But we can’t do that anymore.”

  “No.” He watched as the ocean breeze lifted her hair from her bare shoulders and sent it dancing. “Do you need me to walk you hom
e?”

  “No, I’ll be fine.”

  He started to take a step forward, but stopped himself. “You’re not going to go run more, are you? Because I’m exhausted and I can’t go in knowing you’re out here.”

  Cori rubbed her arms and grinned. “I promise I’m going home. I think I got all the workout I need. Good night, Dylan.”

  “’Night, Cori.”

  She started to turn, but stopped. “It’s Corinne.”

  He held her gaze without blinking. “Not to me.”

  Corinne hated when reality smacked her in the face. Not that she was some pampered diva or thought she deserved better than others, but because swallowing your pride and bearing all your hurt and failures for others to see was miserable.

  She pulled on her nicest Italian-cut suit in a shade of a deep plum. The lines were literally tailor-made for her as the designer had been one of her very good friends. Turning side to side in front of the floor-length mirror in her old bedroom, Corinne smoothed a hand down her suit jacket and hoped she didn’t look like a moron out there hitting the streets looking for a job.

  There was no getting around the fact she’d have to work. Her agent had called this morning and broken more bad news that the last company Corinne had modeled for was also dropping her. Too much bad press, whether it was true or false, wasn’t good for business.

  After a brief crying jag, Corinne had cursed herself for being weak and immediately decided to take control now, while she was good and mad. Anger fueled motivation…also her parents’ monthly housing and her mother’s therapy bill fueled her as well. If she didn’t get a job, she’d only be able to pay for another two months.

  Those damn legal fees had eaten nearly everything Corinne had tied up in savings and she’d even had to dip into her retirement fund and pull some of that out. That was a stiff penalty to pay too, when twenty percent was lost for taking the money out early.

  But what’s done was done. No use getting upset about it now. She’d do anything for her parents. Anything, including and especially shoving her pride aside and practically begging someone for a job. Surely there was a doctor’s office or business that could use a receptionist.

  She grabbed her handbag and keys, and headed out the door. Of course she spared a glance at Dylan’s house, but his truck was gone. More than likely he was working. And the thought of him working construction instantly had her shivering because she could still feel those rough, calloused hands roaming up her back, gripping her hips, tugging her hair, palming her breasts.

  Great. Just what she did not need. Getting horny before going to look for a job was not a smart move.

  She tossed her bag onto the passenger seat and set out for the first place she could think of—the rehab center where her parents were. Even though their stay there was temporary, if Corinne could get a desk job there, she could be closer to them during the day.

  The ten-minute drive to the facility did nothing to calm her nerves, but she didn’t stress, or sit in the car and pray about it. She shoved aside her fears and headed straight toward the glass double doors, but stopped short when Dylan came around the corner wearing his tool belt low on his hips.

  Really? Did she have to run into the man every moment of the day? Could she not do this without an audience?

  His eyes raked over her, which was fine because she was admiring the nice, tight fit of his white T-shirt as it hugged those tan muscles.

  “A little overdressed for visiting,” he told her as he came closer.

  Corinne smiled. “I have some errands to run today. Just felt like looking nice.”

  Heat filled his eyes as he reached out and slid her hair back over her shoulder. “You succeeded.”

  “I’m on a tight schedule, so I’ll see you.”

  Before he could make her nerves any worse and have her convinced to get back in her car and leave, she turned toward the door and went inside. At the front desk was the owner who was staring straight out the door. Obviously she was admiring the scenery of Dylan…not that Corinne could blame the woman.

  But Corinne wasn’t here to discuss the hunky construction worker.

  “Good afternoon, Mary. I was hoping to talk to you for a moment,” Corinne said with a smile she hoped was hiding her fear.

  Mary pulled her eyes from the door and focused on Corinne. “I have a few moments if you’d like to come to my office.”

  Corinne followed the woman down a hall and went into her cozy office. After Mary took a seat behind her desk, Corinne eased into a cushy leather chair.

  “What can I do for you?” Mary asked.

  Shoulders straight, chin high, Corinne said, “I’m looking for a job. I was hoping you had something available, maybe to handle insurance or billing and filing. Anything really.”

  Mary quirked a brow. “Are you serious?”

  Corinne had expected surprise. “Yes, I am. I’m living back here now and I’d like to find a job.”

  Mary eased forward in her seat. “I don’t know that we have any openings for supermodels. What else are you qualified for?”

  Okay, so she wasn’t going to make this easy. Pride shoved aside, Corinne pressed on.

  “I haven’t done anything else,” Corinne told her. “I started that right out of high school. Do you have anything that I could do? I was hoping to find a position here so I could be close to my parents.”

  Mary sighed. “To be honest, I couldn’t hire you. You have a record and with all the pills and prescriptions we deal with here, I wouldn’t be comfortable.”

  Corinne hadn’t even thought of that. She did have a record of being arrested, but the charges had been dropped…eventually. But the DA was still not convinced and continued to investigate.

  Corinne grabbed her purse and nodded. She wasn’t going to defend herself to this self-righteous woman. She didn’t have the energy or the time. And Corinne planned on leaving with at least a little of her dignity.

  “Thank you for talking with me,” Corinne said. “And for the record, I was innocent and I would’ve been an excellent employee.”

  Mary smiled like she wanted to laugh. “We don’t really have a runway for you to strut down nor do we need to pay for a pretty face to sit around.”

  Corinne glared down at the woman. “Have a nice day,” she said through gritted teeth.

  As she turned and left the office, angry tears filled her eyes. She clutched her purse and her keys so hard they bit into her palms. She prayed to God she didn’t run into Dylan again because she just couldn’t handle all the emotions he conjured up in her on top of that harsh rejection.

  After settling down for a moment in her car, she started the engine and pulled out of the lot before Dylan could spot her. Once she finished with her other stops looking for a job, she’d come back and visit her parents. If there were another place relatively close, she’d pull them out of this place and take them there, but Corinne knew their time at Best Care was temporary, just until her mother got some strength back.

  Corinne hated the thought of running into Mary again. That smug little smirk on her face needed to be smacked off and Corinne feared if she’d stayed in that office too much longer, she would’ve shown Mary the nonsupermodel behavior.

  Chapter Five

  Dylan stood in his picture window and tried not to be obvious that he was watching for Cori to come home.

  He’d heard the uncomfortable conversation between her and Mary. Had heard how heartless and cruel Mary had been to Cori, but he’d hidden around the corner when Cori had gracefully walked out like the lady she was. No matter how high up the society ladder she had climbed, the woman had always shown class.

  Dylan had secretly been hoping for Cori to bitch-slap the woman who had so methodically tried to put Cori in her place, but Cori hadn’t even raised her voice.

  He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but he’d needed to talk to Mary and happened to overhear Cori ask about a job. That right there intrigued him. Why on earth did she need money? Surely she had
numerous accounts with all the cash flow she had. The woman was the face of so many ad campaigns there was no way she was strapped for cash.

  But this was none of his business. Not her finances, not her lifestyle and certainly not what time she came home. But he was worried about her. It was nearly nine o’clock and she wasn’t home. He hoped she wasn’t out alone and still upset about the encounter with Mary.

  Just as he was about to turn away and go out back to enjoy the ocean view, headlights tore through the darkness and Cori’s BMW pulled into her drive. Well, at least she made it home. Now he could go enjoy that beer and the soft waves. There was no better way to unwind after a hard day’s work. But, instead, he found himself pulling on his running shoes by the door and heading over to her house.

  With each slap of his soles on the grass and concrete, Dylan cursed himself for being drawn into Cori’s tightly woven web. And getting caught was his own fault because other than being sultry, sexy and vulnerable, she hadn’t done a damn thing to try to capture his attention…save for the night in the silk robe, but that was the bat’s fault.

  Dylan didn’t make it to her before she got into the house, so he stood on her porch and rang the bell. He worried she wouldn’t answer, but after a moment she opened the oak door and Dylan pulled the screen door so he could get closer.

  “Dylan. What are you doing here?”

  He shrugged. “Thought we could go run. You up for it?”

  Cori shook her head. “I’m not feeling like exercise right now.”

  Because he wasn’t a complete ass, he was not going to mention the encounter he’d heard earlier. But he also wasn’t going to let her sit in her house and throw a pity party.

  “Come on,” he encouraged with a grin. “You look stressed and you know running is a great stress-reliever. I’m ready to go and I’ll wait on you to change.”

  She opened her mouth as if she wanted to argue, but he tacked on, “Please?”

  Cori opened the door wider and gestured him in. “Have a seat. I’ll change real quick.”